Union Home Minister Amit Shah Launches Initiatives for Women Empowerment and Cooperation in Keralam

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched several significant projects related to women empowerment and cooperation in Kollam, Keralam. Speaking at the event held at the Pavithram Convention Centre, he stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's primary objective is to empower women through cooperation, as a prosperous woman forms the foundation of a prosperous family.

During the event, 'She-Mart' was launched as a major effort to connect women self-help groups and rural women entrepreneurs directly with consumers. This initiative will provide women with direct market access through procurement, processing, branding, and packaging. According to the plan, more than 300 She-Mart stores will be established across Keralam, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Amit Shah noted that the central government is providing new momentum to the rural economy under the vision of 'Sahakar se Samriddhi'. Praising Keralam's cooperative heritage, he mentioned that over 23,000 cooperative institutions are active in the state. He invited the state government to maximize the benefits of central schemes and assured support in areas like organic agriculture.

Mobile vans from NCCF and NAFED were flagged off during the program, which will provide onions at a subsidized rate of 35 rupees per kilogram. Additionally, the sale of 'Janah' brand products and the distribution of 'Bharat Atta' and 'Bharat Rice' were initiated. Memorandums of Understanding were exchanged between various institutions to strengthen the supply chain for fishery products and the retail network.

Discussing statistics on women empowerment, the Home Minister stated that female labor force participation has increased from 23 percent in 2014-15 to 40 percent today. Highlighting government achievements, he noted that 36 crore bank accounts have been opened for women and the target of creating 3 crore 'Lakhpati Didis' was met ahead of schedule. The goal is now to reach 6 crore women by 2029.

Amit Shah also emphasized the potential of Keralam's blue economy. He stated that given the state's long coastline and maritime tradition, there are vast economic opportunities in the fisheries sector. Through joint efforts of the central and state governments, this sector can be developed into a major economic force.

During the program, pulse seed kits were distributed to women farmers under the pulse self-reliance mission. Furthermore, scholarship cheques were provided to eligible girls under the NAFED-Kalyan scholarship scheme. Union Minister Suresh Gopi and several other dignitaries were present at the event.